JP4889556B2 - UV irradiation equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an ultraviolet irradiation device used for curing an ultraviolet curable resin.

  In recent years, an ultraviolet curing method has been used as a curing method for adhesives and coating agents in many industrial fields. The ultraviolet curing method is a technique for changing a monomer (liquid) into a polymer (solid) by irradiating an ultraviolet curing material with ultraviolet rays to cause a photopolymerization reaction.

Conventionally, in the ultraviolet curing method, an ultraviolet irradiation device having an ultraviolet lamp as a light source has been used. However, in accordance with the development of a light emitting diode (LED) capable of generating ultraviolet light, it is replaced with an ultraviolet lamp. An ultraviolet irradiation device using an ultraviolet LED has also been put into practical use (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2006-281130 A

  In the conventional ultraviolet irradiation apparatus, when the irradiated object is irradiated with ultraviolet rays, it is difficult to visually recognize the position where the ultraviolet ray is irradiated depending on the color of the irradiated object, and the work efficiency may be lowered.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object of the present invention is to provide an ultraviolet irradiation device that can easily recognize the irradiation position of ultraviolet rays.

The ultraviolet irradiating device of the present invention comprises a plurality of ultraviolet light emitting elements that emit ultraviolet light and a plurality of optical fibers that are closely focused, and is provided corresponding to each of the ultraviolet light emitting elements. A plurality of optical fiber bundles for propagating ultraviolet rays radiated from the incident end and propagating the propagated ultraviolet rays from the exit end, a visible light emitting element for emitting visible light, and a plurality of optical fibers. Visible light propagating optical fiber bundle configured to be densely focused, receiving and propagating visible light emitted from the visible light emitting element at the incident end, and emitting the propagated visible light from the emitting end ; A light irradiation head that collects and emits ultraviolet light and visible light from the output end of the optical fiber bundle for UV propagation and the output end of the optical fiber bundle for visible light propagation. With the door, the at the exit end side of the plurality of ultraviolet transmission optical fiber bundle and the visible light transmission optical fiber bundle, for the visible light propagates all optical fibers constituting the plurality of ultraviolet transmission optical fiber bundle bundled into one all the optical fibers together constituting the optical fiber bundle, the exit end face of the optical fiber bundle bundled, each of the optical fibers that constitute the visible light transmission optical fiber bundle together It is characterized by being distributed so as to be spaced apart .

According to the ultraviolet irradiation device of the present invention, the operator can easily visually recognize the irradiation position of the ultraviolet rays.

  Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the ultraviolet irradiation device of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an ultraviolet irradiation apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the ultraviolet irradiation device according to the first embodiment includes one or more ultraviolet light emitting elements 1a, 1b,..., 1n and light corresponding to each ultraviolet light emitting element 1a, 1b,. , 2n, visible light emitting element 3, optical fiber 4, and optical fiber bundle 5 including optical fiber 4 and bundled optical fiber bundles 2a, 2b,. , A light irradiation head 6, a control board 7, a heat sink 8, and a cooling fan 9.

  The ultraviolet light emitting elements 1 a, 1 b,..., 1 n are made of, for example, ultraviolet LEDs, and are thermally bonded to the heat sink 8.

  Each of the optical fiber bundles 2a, 2b,..., 2n is configured by dense focusing in which several hundred optical fibers having a diameter of about several hundred μm are bundled. The diameter of each optical fiber bundle 2a, 2b, ..., 2n is about several mm. One end of each of the optical fiber bundles 2a, 2b, ..., 2n is optically coupled to the ultraviolet light emitting elements 1a, 1b, ..., 1n, respectively, and ultraviolet light is incident from one end thereof.

  As the optical fibers constituting the optical fiber bundles 2a, 2b, ..., 2n, for example, optical fibers having a core made of pure silica glass and a clad made of fluorine-added silica glass can be used.

  The visible light emitting element 3 includes a light emitting diode (LED), a laser diode (LD), and the like, and emits visible light such as red and green.

  One end of the optical fiber 4 is optically coupled to the visible light emitting element 3 so that visible light is incident from one end thereof. The optical fiber 4 for propagating visible light has, for example, a core made of pure silica glass and a clad made of fluorine-added silica glass, like the optical fibers constituting the optical fiber bundles 2a, 2b,. An optical fiber can be used. As the optical fiber 4, an optical fiber having a core made of germanium-added quartz glass and a clad made of pure quartz glass can also be used. The optical fiber 4 may be a single mode optical fiber or a large diameter optical fiber.

  The optical fiber bundle 5 is configured by tightly focusing the optical fiber bundles 2 a, 2 b,. The periphery of the optical fiber bundle 5 is covered with a metal flexible tube for protection.

  The light emitting head 6 is inserted with the end portion on the emission side of the optical fiber bundle 5. The light irradiation head 6 includes a plurality of lenses (not shown) that incorporate ultraviolet rays from the respective ultraviolet light emitting elements 1 a, 1 b,..., 1 n and visible light from the visible light emitting element 3 that are emitted from the emission end of the optical fiber bundle 5. The light is condensed and emitted.

  Since the optical fiber bundle 5 inserted into the light irradiation head 6 is formed by dense focusing of a large number of optical fibers, the outer shape of the end portion on the emission side can be made into various shapes.

  FIG. 2A is a diagram showing the end face 6a of the light irradiation head 6 when the outer shape of the end portion on the emission side of the optical fiber bundle 5 is circular. In this case, the light propagated by the optical fiber bundle 5 is circular. The light is emitted to the outside from the exit 6b. FIG. 2B is a diagram showing the end face 6a of the light irradiation head 6 when the outer shape of the end portion on the emission side of the optical fiber bundle 5 is rectangular. In this case, the light propagated by the optical fiber bundle 5 is rectangular. Is emitted to the outside from the exit 6c.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the optical fiber 4 for propagating visible light is disposed substantially at the center of the optical fiber bundle 5. When the optical fiber bundle 5 is manufactured, the optical fiber 4 is inserted into the tube, and the optical fiber bundles 2a, 2b,..., 2n are knitted and bundled so that the tube into which the optical fiber 4 is inserted is substantially at the center. By pulling out only the tube, the optical fiber bundle 5 in which the optical fiber 4 is arranged at the substantially center is obtained.

  The control board 7 is an electric board that controls ON / OFF of the ultraviolet light emitting elements 1a, 1b,..., 1n and the visible light emitting element 3, a drive current, and the like.

  The heat sink 8 absorbs heat generated by the ultraviolet light emitting elements 1a, 1b,. The cooling fan 9 blows air to the control board 7 and the heat sink 8 to cool it. In addition, you may make it cool only by heat radiation, without providing the cooling fan 9. FIG.

  In the ultraviolet irradiation apparatus according to the first embodiment configured as described above, the ultraviolet light emitting elements 1a, 1b,..., 1n and visible light are transmitted from the control board 7 in accordance with the operation of the operation unit (not shown) by the operator. A drive current is supplied to the light emitting element 3. When a drive current is supplied from the control board 7, the ultraviolet light emitting elements 1a, 1b,..., 1n emit ultraviolet light, and the visible light emitting element 3 emits visible light. The ultraviolet rays emitted from the ultraviolet light emitting elements 1a, 1b,..., 1n are incident and propagated from the incident ends of the optical fiber bundles 2a, 2b,. Visible light emitted from the visible light emitting element 3 is incident from the incident end of the optical fiber 4 and propagated.

  The light irradiation head 6 incorporates ultraviolet rays from the ultraviolet light emitting elements 1a, 1b,..., 1n emitted from the emission end of the optical fiber bundle 5 and visible light from the visible light emitting element 3 (not shown). The light is condensed by the lens and emitted. An operator holds the light irradiation head 6 and performs an operation of irradiating the irradiated object such as an ultraviolet curable resin with ultraviolet rays.

  When the emitted light of the ultraviolet LED is directly used as in the ultraviolet irradiation device of Patent Document 1, the light power distribution of the ultraviolet light output is as shown in FIG. 3, and the irradiation pattern of the light emitting portion of the ultraviolet LED remains to some extent, and the optical power Distribution is not uniform.

  On the other hand, in the ultraviolet irradiation device according to the first embodiment, the optical fiber bundle 5 is configured by closely concentrating a large number of optical fibers, so that even if the optical powers of the individual optical fibers are different, the optical fiber bundle 5 is uniform. An optical power distribution is obtained. FIG. 4 is a model diagram showing the optical power distribution of the ultraviolet output of the ultraviolet irradiation device according to the first embodiment. In FIG. 4, the light power distribution has a top hat shape, and the irradiation pattern of the ultraviolet LED as shown in FIG. 3 is not seen.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 5, the optical power of visible light emitted from the optical fiber 4 for propagation of visible light disposed substantially at the center of the optical fiber bundle 5 is distributed near the center (x ₀ ) of the ultraviolet irradiation region. To do. Thus, since the approximate center position of the ultraviolet irradiation region is indicated by visible light, the operator can easily visually recognize the ultraviolet irradiation position.

  The ultraviolet light emitting elements 1a, 1b,..., 1n generate heat while being driven, but this heat is absorbed by the heat sink 8, and the heat sink 8 dissipates the absorbed heat. The heat sink 8 and the control board 7 are cooled by blowing air from the cooling fan 9.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, the optical fiber bundles 5a, 2b,..., 2n for propagating ultraviolet rays are densely focused including the optical fiber 4 for propagating visible light. Since the optical fiber 4 is disposed at the approximate center of the optical fiber bundle 5, the approximate center position of the ultraviolet irradiation region can be indicated by visible light. Thereby, the operator can easily visually recognize the irradiation position of the ultraviolet rays, and work efficiency can be improved.

  Further, the ultraviolet light emitted from the ultraviolet light emitting elements 1a, 1b,..., 1n is propagated by the optical fiber bundles 2a, 2b,. Since 1n and the light irradiation head 6 are separated, the ultraviolet light emitting elements 1a, 1b,..., 1n can be effectively cooled by the heat sink 8 and the cooling fan 9. Thereby, the change of the optical output by heat | fever accumulation | storage in the ultraviolet light emitting element 1a, 1b, ..., 1n can be suppressed. The visible light emitting element 3 may be installed by being thermally bonded to the heat sink 8 and cooled.

  Moreover, since the outer shape of the end part on the emission side of the optical fiber bundle 5 can be made various shapes, the outer shape of the end part on the output side of the optical fiber bundle 5 is formed according to the shape of the target region to be irradiated with light. It becomes possible to do. For example, as shown in FIG. 2 (b), the outer end of the optical fiber bundle 5 has a rectangular outer shape, so that the ultraviolet curable resin applied to the rectangular region is irradiated with ultraviolet rays at once to be cured. Can be made.

(Second Embodiment)
FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an ultraviolet irradiation apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. Note that, in the configuration of the ultraviolet irradiation apparatus according to the second embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the same reference numerals are given to the same configurations as those of the ultraviolet irradiation apparatus according to the first embodiment shown in FIG. Therefore, detailed description is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the ultraviolet irradiating device according to the second embodiment of the present invention is different from the ultraviolet irradiating device of the first embodiment shown in FIG. In this configuration, the optical fiber bundle 5 is replaced with the optical fiber bundle 11.

  The optical fiber bundle 10 for propagating visible light is configured by close focusing in which several tens to several hundreds of optical fibers having a diameter of about several hundred μm are bundled. One end of the optical fiber bundle 10 for propagating visible light is optically coupled to the visible light emitting element 3, and visible light is incident from one end thereof.

  As an optical fiber constituting the optical fiber bundle 10 for propagating visible light, as with the optical fibers constituting the optical fiber bundles 2a, 2b,..., 2n, for example, a core made of pure silica glass and a fluorine-added quartz glass are used. An optical fiber having a cladding can be used. An optical fiber having a core made of germanium-added quartz glass and a clad made of pure quartz glass can also be used.

  The optical fiber bundle 11 is configured by tightly focusing the optical fiber bundles 2a, 2b,..., 2n including the optical fiber bundle 10 for visible light propagation. Here, the optical fiber bundle 11 is configured such that the optical fibers belonging to the visible light propagation optical fiber bundle 10 are dispersedly arranged.

  FIG. 7A is a view showing the end face 6a of the light irradiation head 6 when the outer shape of the end portion on the output side of the optical fiber bundle 11 is circular, and FIG. 2B is the end on the output side of the optical fiber bundle 11. It is a figure which shows the end surface 6a of the light irradiation head 6 in case the external shape of a part is a rectangle. As shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, in the optical fiber bundle 11, the optical fibers 10a belonging to the visible light propagation optical fiber bundle 10 are dispersedly arranged.

  In the ultraviolet irradiation device according to the second embodiment configured as described above, the visible light emitted from each optical fiber 10a belonging to the visible light propagation optical fiber bundle 10 is emitted from the optical fiber bundle 11. The entire irradiation area of the ultraviolet rays is shown. At this time, the power (power density) of the ultraviolet rays hardly decreases.

  Thereby, the operator can easily visually recognize the irradiation region of the ultraviolet rays, and work efficiency can be improved.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments as they are, and can be embodied by modifying the components without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. Various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of constituent elements disclosed in the above embodiments. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiment. Furthermore, constituent elements over different embodiments may be appropriately combined.

It is a lineblock diagram showing the ultraviolet irradiation device concerning a 1st embodiment of the present invention. (A) is a figure which shows the end surface 6a of the light irradiation head 6 in case the external shape of the output side end part of the optical fiber bundle 5 in the ultraviolet irradiation device shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the end surface 6a of the light irradiation head 6 in case the external shape of the edge part by the side of an emission is a rectangle. It is a model figure which shows the optical power distribution of the optical output in the ultraviolet irradiation device which directly uses the emitted light of ultraviolet LED. It is a model figure which shows the optical power distribution of the ultraviolet-ray output in the ultraviolet irradiation device shown in FIG. It is a model figure which shows the optical power distribution of the visible light output in the ultraviolet irradiation device shown in FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the ultraviolet irradiation device which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. 6A is a view showing the end face 6a of the light irradiation head 6 when the outer shape of the end portion on the emission side of the optical fiber bundle 11 in the ultraviolet irradiation apparatus shown in FIG. 6 is circular, and FIG. It is a figure which shows the end surface 6a of the light irradiation head 6 in case the external shape of the edge part by the side of an emission is a rectangle.

Explanation of symbols

1a, 1b,..., 1n UV light emitting elements 2a, 2b,..., 2n Optical fiber bundle 3 Visible light emitting element 4 Optical fiber 5 Optical fiber bundle 6 Light irradiation head 7 Control board 8 Heat sink 9 Cooling fan 10 Visible light propagation light Fiber bundle 11 Optical fiber bundle

Claims (4)

A plurality of ultraviolet light emitting elements that emit ultraviolet light;
A plurality of optical fibers are densely focused and provided corresponding to each of the ultraviolet light emitting elements. The ultraviolet rays emitted from the ultraviolet light emitting elements are received and propagated at the incident end, and the propagated ultraviolet rays are transmitted. A plurality of ultraviolet-propagating optical fiber bundles that exit from the exit end;
A visible light emitting device that emits visible light; and
A visible light propagation optical fiber bundle configured by closely concentrating a plurality of optical fibers, receiving visible light emitted from the visible light emitting element at the incident end, and propagating the propagated visible light from the outgoing end. and,
A light irradiation head that is provided at an emission end of the plurality of optical fiber bundles for propagating ultraviolet rays and the optical fiber bundle for visible light propagation, and that collects and emits ultraviolet rays and visible light from the emission ends ;
At the exit end side of the plurality of ultraviolet transmission optical fiber bundle and the visible light transmission optical fiber bundle, all of the visible light propagating optical fiber bundle and the optical fibers constituting the plurality of ultraviolet transmission optical fiber bundle and all optical fibers constituting the bundled in one together, at the exit face of the optical fiber bundle bundled, so that the respective optical fibers constituting the visible light transmission optical fiber bundle are separated from each other An ultraviolet irradiation device characterized by being arranged in a dispersed manner. The ultraviolet irradiation apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a heat radiating unit that is bonded to the ultraviolet light emitting element and absorbs and releases heat generated by the ultraviolet light emitting element. The ultraviolet irradiation device according to claim 2 , further comprising a blower that blows cooling air to the heat radiating unit. Bundled contour of the exit end side of the plurality of ultraviolet transmission optical fiber bundle, in any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that formed according to the shape of the target region to be irradiated with ultraviolet rays The ultraviolet irradiation device described.

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